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NEW YORK — Wendy’s is rolling out a program that lets customers pay using their smartphones.

Burger King unveiled a similar plan this week.

Dublin-based Wendy’s Co. has been testing the mobile payment option over the past year and said
most of its roughly 5,800 U.S. locations are ready to accept the payments with the company’s custom
My Wendy’s application, which is compatible with iPhone and Android devices.

To pay with the Wendy’s app, customers preload money through a credit, debit or gift card into
the app, then tap the app to pull up a six-digit number that they recite to the cashier, a
spokeswoman said.

The move reflects a push by fast-food chains to court younger customers by tapping into the
attachment they have to their phones. Customers using the payment-enabled app during the tests
bought more food and visited more often, the spokeswoman said.

“If they want to come in and give us business, we want to allow them to pay the way they want to
pay,” said Craig Bahner, chief marketing officer for Wendy’s.

Accepting mobile payments also can keep customers who have no cash or credit cards from going
elsewhere.

“You can look at it as if you’re attracting millennials and other consumers, but the reality is,
you’re preventing them from going elsewhere by taking mobile pay,” said Darren Tristano, executive
vice president of Technomic, a Chicago-based research firm.

Mobile payment transactions usually cost far less than credit-card transactions for restaurant
operators, and mobile payments are faster. “The ability to use a mobile payment is added
convenience in an industry like fast food that is all about convenience,” Tristano said.

Burger King Worldwide Inc. also said this week that it will introduce a mobile payment program
in its U.S. restaurants in April.

McDonald’s Corp., meanwhile, has acknowledged the importance of mobile payments but is still in
a testing phase after hiring its first chief digital officer in October.

Chipotle is experimenting with the options as well.

In the meantime, Starbucks Corp. is pushing to get more customers to sign up for its app and
loyalty program. The coffee chain says 14 percent of all purchases come from mobile payments.
Starbucks executives say customers who sign up for the app tend to visit more often.

“You look at the numbers that Starbucks puts out, and it’s pretty amazing,” said Brandon Rhoten,
vice president of digital at Wendy’s.

It’s not clear whether the impact Starbucks sees in mobile would translate to fast-food chains
because coffee is more of a daily fix. But Rhoten said Wendy’s saw promising trends in tests,
including increased visits.

To pay with the Wendy’s app, customers do not have to hold up their device to a scanner. Burger
King also said its app will give customers a four-digit number — rather than Wendy’s six digits —
that they tell cashiers to make a payment.

“That’s a real benefit when you think about cars going through pickup windows,” Bahner said.

The rollout comes as Wendy’s works to revamp its image to be more in line with chains such as
Panera Bread, which charge a little more than traditional fast-food chains. That push has included
remodeling Wendy’s restaurants in search of a more-inviting feel and adding menu items that command
higher prices, such as the Pretzel Bacon Burger.